Currently, there are numerous types of portable electronic devices having a limited communication capability and/or a limited user interface capability. This may be desirable in some instances in order to keep the unit cost of the device to a minimum, or because it is not desired that a casual user is able to interact with the software or firmware running on the device.
As an example, some position tracking and reporting devices which generate an autonomous position report when movement is detected, or when a position request is received from a user or monitoring service. These devices are often used for fleet monitoring, asset tracking and recovery and the like. The position tracking device typically does not have an integrated user interface or display device both because they are not necessary for the normal operation of the device and to keep the unit cost of the device to a minimum.
However, at times it may be desirable to be able to reconfigure the position tracking device, or to retrieve data from it. This typically involves coupling the position tracking device with a laptop computer and manually initiating the desired operation. This can be cumbersome and heavy for the operator performing this, especially when there may be dozens, or hundreds of position tracking devices in use. Some position tracking and reporting devices have wireless communication capability. However, some users, especially those with multiple tracking devices, may find wireless communications too costly, or not secure enough to configure, retrieve data from their position tracking devices in this manner.